Foster Carer

The Fostering Company North East (Partner of Five Rivers Child Care)

Salary of £20,422*, with tax-free benefits. 

Are you looking for a meaningful career with life-changing potential? If you live in a loving, stable home and would like to offer a vulnerable child a safe place to stay, becoming a Foster Carer could be for you.

Foster Carers are paid to look after children who are temporarily or permanently unable to live with their birth families. You will work from home as part of a professional team committed to turning children's lives around.

As a Foster Carer with The Fostering Company, you will receive excellent benefits, which include:

• A highly competitive fostering allowance of at least £391.67 per child per week (in most cases, the fostering allowance is tax-free).
• 24/7 support from our local fostering teams.
• Training and career development opportunities.
• Up to fourteen days holiday allowance, with additional days accruing to reward longevity of service.
• Option to accept short-term or long-term placements.

Why become a Foster Carer with The Fostering Company?

• Helping young people in need – our Foster Carers give children a chance to have a brighter and happier future – what could be more rewarding than that?
• Lifestyle – foster care gives you flexibility, and you can work from home. In some cases, it is possible to combine fostering with other work, too, depending on the needs of the children in your care.
• The chance to launch a meaningful career – Foster Carers are child care experts working with a team of professionals; they receive specialist training and career development opportunities.
• Financial benefits – for many of our carers, fostering is their primary source of income. At The Fostering Company, we offer competitive pay, paid respite and other benefits.
• Join a social enterprise: The Fostering Company differs from many foster care providers. We are part of a social enterprise, which means you will join a cause-driven organisation with a strong social mission to support children, families, and communities.
• Join a progressive organisation - we work in partnership with our carers and value their feedback. We listen to and work with our carers by co-hosting local, regional, and national forums to share feedback to shape our services.

Being a Foster Carer is extremely rewarding. Still, it can be challenging, so we invest in our carers by providing leading training, 24/7 support and psychological expertise to help the work you do with children. You will be part of a special community of Foster Carers and join local support groups and buddy schemes.

Who can be a Foster Carer?

To undertake this role, you must be able to provide a safe and caring home environment. We need caring people with patience and determination to turn a child's life around.

There are some essential criteria you will need to meet:

• Be passionate about making a difference for a child or young person.
• Be over the age of 21.
• Speak fluent English.
• Have a furnished spare room that is not used by anybody else.
• Be committed to undergoing training and development.
• Be able to work in partnership with the team involved in caring for the child/young person.
   

Click 'apply' to speak to our Carer Enquiry Team to learn more about the role and decide if fostering is right for you. You can also find out more about fostering with us by clicking apply.

*£20,422 annual salary is based on a one child placement for the full year.